1. Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Chapter 17 Informal Reports Technical Communication: Strategies for College and the Workplace by Dan Jones & Karen Lane

2. Common Types of Informal Reports

3. Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Progress Reports... Provide updates on work completed and work remaining for a particular assignment, task, product, or process

4. Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Periodic Activity Reports... Are provided at regular intervals Give information on the activities or status of an organization

5. Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Trip Reports... Detail the activities and expenses of a employee while traveling on company business

6. Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Lab Reports... Describe the testing and research performed in a laboratory

7. Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Meeting Minutes... Summarize the best major issues discussed and decisions made during a meeting

8. Report Formats Memos Letters E-mail

9. Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Memo Reports Are for internal use Are usually more informal in format and style than letter reports

10. Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Letter Reports Are directed at audiences outside of the company or organization

11. Sending Reports via E-mail

12. Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Sending Reports via E-mail: Remember... Both memos and letters can be attached to e-mail messages E-mail isn’t private Special formatting applied to your message may not be viewable by others (—Continued––)

13. Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Sending Reports via E-mail: Remember... Informal reports on sensitive or delicate issues are often best written in hard- copy memo or letter format (—Continued––)

14. Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Sending Reports via E-mail: Remember... Consider the conventions of your employer Ethical considerations may also help determine which format is best

15. Strategies for Preparing Informal Reports

16. Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Focusing Analyze your audience Determine what your audience needs to know

17. Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Gathering Information Gather information to provide detailed content

18. Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Interpreting Information Spend time interpreting information to understand what it means

19. Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Organizing Carefully consider how to organize your key points Remember your audience

20. Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Designing and Illustrating Enhance readability through effective use of – White Space – Typography – Bulleted and numbered lists – Line spacing – Other design elements

21. Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved. Writing and Revising Write several drafts to create a polished report.